Back to Square One

By Samuel Grumiau, in ICFTU On Line,18 September, 1997

Cambodia is back in the headlines, for the wrong reasons: The undeclared war between
the two ruing parties that had been simmering below the surface for months has ended up in a coup
d'etat, putting a halt to the development of the emerging independent trade union movement.

Brussels, September 17 1997 (ICFTU OnLine): Sam Han, a textile
factory in Phnom Penh belonging to South Korean investors, is a perfect
illustration of the problems encountered by independent trade unions in
Cambodia. A group of sixty workers met on March 2, 1997, to set up a
democratically run trade union.

Their problems began immediately, with administrative difficulties
created by the ministries of both Labour and Justice. The leaders were
then dismissed on a flimsy pretext. They did succeeded, on July 2,
however, in organising a strike of 1,500 Sam Han workers. On July 4,
after two days of the stoppage, management agreed to meet trade union
representatives and a collective agreement was signed. It didn't last
long.

The following day Hun Sen took power and the factory closed for five
days. When it reopened, on July 10, the management called the staff to
a meeting. "We have been sent by Hun Sen, who is now in power" stated
the bosses. They no longer recognised the union, refused to apply the
collective agreement and dismissed the three leaders who had played the
most active role in the strike: Nin Sopheap, Thaong Sovanphalla and Chim
Sokhandara. They now fear for their lives.

Cambodia is finding it difficult to lay its old demons to rest. After
20 years of war, the country had returned to a sort of peace after the
1993 elections, organised under the auspices of the United Nations. The
loser, the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), led by the Prime Minister
under Vietnamese occupation, Hun Sen, refused to leave office.
The coalition he formed with the winning party, the Funcinpec led by
Prince Ranariddh, son of King Sihanouk, was no love match. For the UN
it was a case of saving face by putting all its weight behind the
formation of this government, going against common sense, in order to
show the world that the intervention of the blue berets did not always
result in failure. Since then, the international community has
struggled to maintain the fragile balance, going so far as to finance
half the Cambodian State budget.

Little by little, life returned to normal in Cambodia. A few companies
were created and foreign investors began to show an interest, attracted
by the derisory cost of local labour. The textile sector grew quickly
in the country, exploiting to the full its workers, who began to
organise. In addition to the Cambodian Federation of Trade Unions
(CAFTU), created in 1979 by the communist government, several unions
have been created since the beginning of this year.

Ou Mary, a worker in a textile factory, created the "Free Trade Union of
Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia" (FTUWKC) with the aid of the leader
of the principal opposition party and former Finance Minister, Sam
Rainsy. The CPP reacted by creating the "Cambodian Union Federation"
(CUF). There were attempts by independent trade unions to organise in
several companies.

The coup d'etat by the second Prime Minister, Hun Sen, has radically
changed the nature of the problem for the labour movement. Now only
trade unions close to the CPP can operate "freely", or in other words
reflect the views of the new authorities.

The FTUWKC lost its leading lights: Sam Rainsy was abroad during the
bloody takeover at the beginning of July and Ou Mary fled the country.
Both remain in exile. The other trade union leaders are in hiding or
keeping a low profile, following the scores of arrests and
"disappearances" after the coup d'etat. As for the independent trade
unions, there are almost none to speak of.

At first, the international community unanimously condemned Hun Sen's
coup. His military victory however has made the Asean countries think
twice, their main concern being to ensure stability in the region. They
are taking a more and more open attitude to the new regime. Foreign
investors however will not be hurrying to return.